Child Pornography
Testified in a Federal Court jury trial as the defense expert about how files were or could have been downloaded and moved, whether the files were viewed, and other matters. Defendant was found not guilty by the jury.
Insurance Fraud -- Determining Defendant Did Not Create Documents
Defendants were charged with conspiracy to inflate rental car damage appraisals. The defendant accused of creating the appraisals denied creating them, and denied that they were inflated. ESI Consulting was hired by defense attorney Harrison "Butch" Slaughter of Leventhal & Slaughter, P.A., to conduct a forensic examination of the defendant's computer. We examined the computer, and determined that the defendant did not create the defendant's computer. We examined the computer, and determined that the defendant did not create the appraisals. We also obtained the hard drive from a third party, and determined that that person actually created the appraisals. Richard Connor of ESI Consulting filed affidavits stating that based upon his forensic examinations, defendant did not create the appraisals, and the judge dismissed the case in its entirety. The dismissal was recently upheld on appeal.
Contractor Fraud -- Retrieving Deleted Document Exonerating Defendant
Defendant, a licensed contractor, was charged with defrauding a customer, and was in danger of losing his license amongst other things. He alleged that he sent a letter to the client disclosing everything, so that there was no fraud. He could not find the letter anywhere, even after searching all the computers in his office. ESI Consulting was retained to examine the computers for the letter. We found the letter in ambient space on one of the computers. The alleged victim was deposed, and denied ever receiving a letter, but when shown the document retrieved by ESI Consulting, acknowledged receiving it. The prosecution dismissed the case.
Child Porn -- Determining Defendant Did Not Knowingly Possess
Defendant was charged with possession of child porn. The only plea offered by the State was a guilty plea requiring defendant to register as a sex offender. Defendant's first attorney never examined the computer or viewed the evidence, yet advised him to accept the plea. Defendant then hired Butch Slaughter of Leventhal & Slaughter, P.A., who hired ESI Consulting to examine the computer. Incredibly, the detective on the case said that we were the first ones ever to ask to examine the computer in a child porn case in that county. Our examination showed that the pictures were retrievable only through data carving, that defendant could not find them, open them, view them, and in fact could not even know that they were on his computer. The Florida Statute required that defendant knowingly possess the images. Richard Connor of ESI Consulting filed an affidavit stating facts to show that defendant did not knowingly possess the images, and defendant filed a Motion to Dismiss the case. ESI Consulting suggested deposing the State's forensic expert, who would have to testify to the same facts which would prove that defendant did not knowingly possess the images. Hours before the deposition, the prosecutor offered a plea to an unspecified computer crime, no jail time, and no sex offender status. Defendant accepted the plea.
Identity Theft -- Creating Timeline To Show No Theft
Defendant was charged with stealing another person's identity, and using the other person's credit cards. Defendant alleged that they were business partners and the charges were authorized. While defense counsel retrieved defendant's cell phone records, ESI Consulting examined defendant's computer and retrieved emails between defendant and the alleged victim. A comparison of the emails, with the cell phone records, with the credit card charges, showed that defendant was on the phone with the alleged victim at the time of the charges, bolstering her defense that the charges were authorized. The prosecution dismissed the case.
Destruction Of Evidence
ESI Consulting was retained to examine a computer of a party to a civil lawsuit. That party had received a Request for Production of Documents, but claimed to have no documents. Our computer forensic examination showed that the party had deleted the documents from the computer after receiving the request for production.
Domestic Relations -- Retrieving IMs And Webmail
One spouse was accused of being unfaithful and communicating via Instant Messages and webmail, which are not saved to the hard drive by default. ESI Consulting was hired to examine the computer, and was able to retrieve the IMs and webmail from ambient data.
Solicitation of Minors
ESI Consulting is working on several sexual predator cases involving solicitation of minors, examining drives for chats, emails, and other evidence.